Interim(75)

“I’m going. I swear. It’s just—” Casey thought for a moment. “Hey.”

“Hey what?” Regan barked.

Casey smiled. “I believe in you. You’re gonna be great today. No no, fantastic. You’re gonna blow everyone’s minds.”

Regan scanned the bleachers even as her brain screamed for her to look away. But she wasn’t looking for the scout. She was looking for her best friend, who finally said something right! She needed encouragement, and she knew Casey would say it all over again: “I believe in you.”

“Well well well, if it isn’t the golden goddess herself,” Sydney teased, approaching Regan. Rival center forwards. Almost mirror images of one another.

Regan’s entire demeanor changed. She inhaled deeply, puffing her chest and trying hard to look down her nose at her opponent.

“I’m glowing, I know,” Regan replied in her most contemptuous voice. “Wanna know why?”

“’Cause you’re Katniss?”

“That’s right. I’m Katniss. And I’m about to set this field on fire,” Regan replied.

“You’re forgetting I’m from District 1, and we’re pretty much unstoppable,” Sydney argued.

“You’re good. I’ll give you that. But I’m the rogue bitch out here gonna start shit,” Regan said.

The girls stared each other down.

“You’re such a dork,” Sydney said finally, and they both burst out laughing.

“Stop talking to her!” Number 17 called to Sydney. “She’s the enemy and can’t be trusted!”

“Oh my God, your teammates are lunatics,” Regan observed.

“Hey, that’s what gets us our wins,” Sydney replied.

“You know I’m beating you today, right?” Regan asked.

“Single-handedly?”

“Well, if I have to.”

Sydney turned toward the bleachers and shaded her eyes from the sun. “Scout?”

“How the hell could you not know?”

“I maybe knew. And I couldn’t care less.”

“Bull. Shit.”

“It’s not bullshit,” Sydney argued. “I don’t wanna go to some lame ass all girls’ college. Hello. I wanna have sex with guys in my dorm room.”

“Well, I plan to have sex with guys in my dorm room at Berkshire,” Regan said.

Sydney snorted. “Yeah. Good luck with that. And this game.”

“You, too,” Regan replied. “I’ll try not to hurt your feelings too much.”

The girls shook hands as Regan’s coach yelled for a huddle.

She managed to forget about her birthday night with Jeremy until she was smashed between two teammates in a tight, perfume-spiked circle. Coach Allan walked away momentarily, and the girls started their ritual: divulge a secret—illegal or otherwise—and don’t judge. Or tell. They did it before every game, and it proved to be the best teambuilding exercise out of any they tried. The secrets built trust, making the girls unstoppable on the field.

“Got wasted at Regan’s birthday party and made out with Chad.”

Some girls snickered.

“Hey, no judgment!” And the snickering subsided.

“Stole money out of Dad’s wallet for a shopping trip. Swear to God I’m replacing it when I get paid tomorrow!”

“My life is so freaking boring right now because I’m grounded. Next.”

“Now don’t freak out. I would never do this to you guys, but I shared a secret about my friend to this chick in my neighborhood. Honestly, I don’t even know how she got me to reveal it, but now Kelsey hates my guts.”

Everyone stared.

“The girl doesn’t go here!”

More staring.

“She goes to a private school! The secret’s safe. I think. I don’t know. I’m a shitty friend, okay?”

“You’re off the team is what you are,” Tara snapped.

“Oh, come on. One little secret. And I swear to God I’d never do that to this group!”

“You better not,” Ashley threatened. “Or we’ll tell the entire universe about that time. You know what I’m talking about.”

“Enough!” Regan cried. “We don’t have time for this. Next.” She looked to her right.

“Me? Jeez, okay. Those weren’t stitches on my forehead last week. That bandage was covering a huge pimple—like a big ass cyst. I had to go to the dermatologist to have it worked on. So embarrassing, so I just lied about it.”